6 Major Companies Started by Trammell Crow Alums
Trammell Crow may be the biggest name in Dallas commercial real estate. He was an icon who had a knack for identifying the people with the most potential in the industry. And for those lucky enough to work for him, it meant learning from the best. Today, we take a look at just a few of the companies founded by execs who got a start with Trammell Crow.
Trammell Crow launched his commercial real estate career in 1948. He started out building and leasing spec warehouses and before 1960 owned 15M SF. By 1971, Forbes called him the nation's largest private real estate operator. To his credit, he built the Furniture Mart, the Trade Mart, the Dallas Market Center and the Apparel Mart. He also partnered with David Rockefeller to build San Francisco's Embarcadero Center, as well as the Peachtree Center in Atlanta. One DFW broker tells us that after the RTC crash in the '80s, “Mr. Crow had each of his partners in Dallas write down the biggest mistakes they made during the go-go years preceding that crash. That document, and the musings of each of the partners, continues to be used as a road map of what not to do when developing real estate. I think referencing that document 35 years later shows what a stroke of genius that hindsight observation continues to be in our industry.” He passed away in 2009, but his legacy lives on in the talent he cultivated.
The Billingsley Co
Who: Lucy (Trammell Crow’s daughter) and Henry Billingsley
Evolution: The husband/wife duo left in 1978 to start the firm.
Today: The Billingsley Co’s holdings include 3,200 acres of master planned developments, more than 3,000 multifamily units, 1.55M SF of office parks with commercial buildings, 3,500-plus acres of raw land for build-to-suit opportunities, 680k SF of retail storefronts and 10M SF of industrial space all spread out across Dallas, Houston and Chicago. Billingsley also has data center sites at Cypress Waters, Austin Ranch and International Business Park.
Pictured: Lucy with her dad, Trammell Crow.
Peloton Real Estate Partners
Who: Former TCC partners TD Briggs and Joel Pustmueller
Evolution: The duo left TCC in 2002 to form Peloton.
Today: Since the firm's founding, the Peloton portfolio has grown to more than 24M SF of leased and/or management properties. Peloton has offices in Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio. Among Peloton’s recent deals are a 160k SF lease at Trinity Towers and a 117k SF lease at 250 E Arapaho, as well as the winning of the office leasing assignment for an 800k SF mixed-use project, The Union Dallas.
Pictured: CBRE’s Peery Wood and Lance McIlhenny, Peloton’s Sarah Hinkley, JLL’s Greg Biggs and Joel.
Stream Realty Partners
Who: Lee Belland and Mike McVean
Evolution: The duo left TCC in 1996 to start the company.
Today: Stream does $1.6B in real estate transactions annually with more than 550 real estate pros on staff. The firm leases and/or manages more than 120M SF of commercial buildings across the nation. In addition to its HQ in Dallas, Stream has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Denver, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Southern California and DC.
Lincoln Property Co
Who: Mack Pogue founded the company in partnership with Trammell Crow in 1965 as a developer and manager of high-quality apartments.
Evolution: In 1977, Mack bought out Trammell’s share in the company and expanded its line of products and services to include commercial real estate.
Today: Mack is still chairman of the firm, which has eight regional offices and three services groups with its corporate HQ in Dallas. In 1982, the firm developed the 45-story Lincoln Plaza high-rise, now known as Ross Tower (pictured). In 1986, Fortune called the company the third-biggest developer in the US. Today, properties range from Houston to Playa Vista, CA, to Parsippany, NJ, and Orlando, FL. The firm still develops residential, commercial and retail properties throughout the US, Mexico and Europe.
The Industrial Group
Who: John Walsh III
Evolution: John left TCC in 1994 after 17 years at the firm to launch TIG Realty Services
Today: The real estate holding company advises, manages, operates, leases and develops real estate investments for institutions, individuals, corporations and companies. Since its start, the company has grown the managed portfolio and/or leased portfolio from 1.8M SF to 14.1M SF in Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Memphis. In that time, TIG has developed more than 2M SF and has played a part in the acquisition of more than 10M SF for its clients.
Pictured: John, center between ULI’s Pamela Stein and Wynne Jackson’s Michael Jackson.
Holt Lunsford Commercial
Who: Holt Lunsford
Evolution: Holt left TCC in 1991 to start The Holt Cos.
Today: The commercial real estate service and investment company’s core lines of business include development, construction management, leasing, property management, reporting/accounting, insurance consulting and investments in the office, industrial, land and retail sectors. The firm is the third-largest commercial real estate provider in the Metroplex, overseeing more than 47M SF in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston for private and institutional owners. The company is wrapping up construction on a JV venture with TA Associates for nearly 700k SF of industrial spec space off I-20 between Highway 67 and I-35 in Stoneridge Business Park.
Pictured: left, with HFF’s Mark Gibson
Reporter's note: We know there are many others, including Meyers & Crow, Altschuler Co, Bandera Ventures, Champion Partners, Huntington Industrial Partners, Perot Development Co, Vantage, Paragon, Westwood Residential and many more. Do you have a good story from your time at Trammell Crow Co? Did we miss other firms? Tell us at tonie@bisnow.com.
